A girl, a ship, and a language barrier
by ihas no clue
Summary: Things have been rough on the seas with all these storms suddenly appearing. For one trainer trying to reach Evergrand city, it is a challenge unlike any other. Especially when she meets up with the oddest looking ship she's seen. "I bet he's a Wailmer trainer."
1. Chapter 1

The Pacifidlog Pokémon Center bustled with the lunch rush as one female trainer weaved her way through the crowd. She swayed back and forth, dodging elbows and bodies, before making it out of the crowd to walk normally to her table.

Sitting at her table, far enough to avoid attention from the other trainers, her team finishing their hard-earned food outside of their respective Pokéballs.

A Trapinch munched away at her food underneath the table while her Vigoroth tried to start a conversation between her two flying types, Swablu and Pelipper. Both her fighters, a Combusken and a Breloom, were eating at their own pace ignoring the way the food flew from the Vigoroth's mouth. Her Breloom noticed her approach and greeted his trainer with a happy 'Croon'.

The Pokémon made various noises of complaint when her Combusken tried to make space for her. The Swablu fluttered into the air while her Pelipper hopped the borders between the tables with a huff. The Vigoroth stood her ground and pushed the Combusken back with one hand, an annoyed look on her face. The Combusken growled this time, using one of his hands to pull at her cheek. The trainer rolled her eyes at her two Pokemon's actions before promptly sitting next to her Breloom.

"Come on, Ace. Leave Vera alone and finish eating. I don't want to take up space with so many people here," the trainer chided at her Combusken as she began to eat, moving a stray strand of hair away from her face.

Ace grumbled as he moved back into his original space while Vera grinned at him. Swablu perched on her shoulder, appetite lost from the interruption. The Pelipper settled back on the tabletop taking over the area where the Swablu once ate, when she realized that there would be no more craziness from the Fire-Fighting type.

Since the Breloom had not engaged in his fellow fighter's antics, he finished his food first and looked around the room. He watched all the different trainers respond to their own Pokemon's needs but a few stood out to him. A tall man with very large sideburns in an eating contest with his own team of fighting types while a woman with a Skitty tiptoed daintily through the lunchroom. A couple sat in their own corner, Volbeat and Illumise flitting around their heads, while a punk-styled group gagged nearby.

He turned his attention back to his own team. The quirky Wingull that turned into the 'Mother' Pelipper of the group, the lazy Slakoth that turned into the energetic Vigoroth, the little Swablu that grew quickly with the Experience share, and the slow but ever vigilant Trapinch that watched out for the group. Breloom turned to his tag-battle partner, the quiet Torchic that turned into hotheaded Combusken back when he was a Shroomish.

A nudge made him snap out of his nostalgia to look over at his trainer. With a bit of dismay, he noticed that everyone else on the team were back into his or her respective Pokéballs while he was the last one.

"Are you done with your flashback? Someone wants to challenge us, full-out six-on-six match." She grinned at him, eager for his answer. "I told him to pick the field and we'd be there in a few. You in, right?"

The Breloom nodded at her, letting out a cheerful cry as she called him back into his little home. Fighting a challenger always made for a good post-lunch activity.

* * *

With a battle cry, the Pelipper used one last Wing Attack to knock down the Dodrio. The three-headed bird fell down, eyes in a swirl. The Dodrio's trainer cried out in shock.

"Olson's Dodrio is unable to battle!" cried out the referee, holding his left hand up. "The winner of this six-on-six match is Louisa and her Pelipper!"

The crowd that had grown with every fight cheered to both trainers as they called back their Pokémon. With a grin, Olson met Louisa in the middle of the battlefield.

"Wow, you're one tough little girl. Never would've known a Pelipper could _twist_ like that to dodge." he commented to her as he shook her hand.

Louisa smiled back. "Yeah, I could say the same with your Mightyena. How did you get him that fast? My Vigoroth could barely keep up."

"Lots of training." Olson nodded seriously while stroking his sideburns before laughing. "Sweet battle, I'll see you around." He gave Louisa a wave before the trainers that watched the match swarmed him, eager voices overlapping each other.

Louisa shook her head and walked back to the Pokémon Center, brushing aside her own a group of trainers with the excuse of letting her team recover their strength.

X.x.X.

After her visit to the Center, Louisa made her way to the beach. Waiting until she reached the sand dunes, Louisa let her team out.

Swablu and Pelipper were the first out, taking to the sky and expressing their delight. Vigoroth and Trapinch were next, the Ground type staying in her arms as the Normal type ran to splash in the sea. The last out were her Breloom and Ace, both stretching their muscles out before deciding to spar. Vigoroth, noticing that Louisa just stood there, began to move out of the water towards her trainer.

Trapinch wiggled in Louisa's arms, groaning uneasily about being close to a water-soaked teammate.

"Okay, okay. Just stay on the beach, I'm sure that Pelipper will keep an eye out for you if something with water comes along." Louisa said to her Ground type as Vigoroth began pulling on her arm, determined to get her moving.

Trapinch merely clicked her jaws shut as she moved away from the water. While the rest of the team had fun, Trapinch dug herself a hole before hiding into its sand pit. Swablu trilled at her grumpy nature but Trapinch would have none of that. No _way_ would The Incident be repeated.

As the sky began to get dark, Louisa called back her team so that they could return to the Pokémon Center for one more night before making their way across the vast expanse of water to reach the next gym.

She called back Vigoroth first, making a mental note to give her a bath. Next to go were Swablu and Trapinch, the latter sounding relieved. Pelipper gave a small huff at her teammate, while Breloom chuckled and Combusken merely rolled his eyes.

Louisa gave a small smile at her last three teammates. "Maybe I should have left her back at the center. In any case, I won't let her out until we reach Evergrand City. I think it's time to go after the League."

Various noises of agreement answered her before she called the three back into their respective Pokeballs. Louisa carefully stored her team away before making her way back to the Center.

* * *

The morning dawned with grey clouds over the sea with many conversations across the city buzzing about the sudden change in the weather.

"Dude, looks like its going to get very stormy and pretty nasty to try to cross," a red-haired teen said to his friends, leaning back on his chair while sipping on his drink. The Pokémon Center's waiting areas had filled with apprehensive trainers looking to the slowly darkening sky.

X.x.X.

"We shouldn't head out today. I don't like the feeling of those clouds." a sailor stated suddenly to his crewmates at the docks. They turned to stare at him with raised eyebrows at the frown dominating his face. While others would call the statement as a bit dramatic, the crew had escaped many dangers by listening to the man. He seemed to have a sixth sense about these sorts of things.

"Really Bernie? Now that's a rare statement outta you." "Is it gonna become really bad out at sea?" The questions overlapped each other as Bernie shook his head.

"Someone go tell the Captain. **We're** _not_ going out today." Bernie stated with a firm tone.

X.x.X.

"I overheard from like one of those sailors that the storm could build to be like a typhoon and that it would like delay the ships and stuff for like weeks, or something" a girl with a pink Jigglypuff t-shirt said into the telephone to her friend while she twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers.

"_Oh, does this mean you might not make it to my party? I mean if you're thinking about waiting it out, I'll understand that Lena. I so don't want you to get wet and ruin your look."_

"Yeah, and I bought you the cutest souvenirs too. Oh, and then something for me too."

"_Oh, I wish I could see it. I bet it's that Pikachu doll we saw last week or maybe a new plant?"_

A myriad of shopping bags lined the booth by Lena's feet as she chatted with her friend, hoping to finish the conversation before the rain would trap her in the booth.

X.x.X.

As the sky rumbled with distant thunder, Louisa clicked the last buckle on her life vest before adjusting her goggles. If she did not leave today, it could be weeks of waiting with all the rumors pointing to a large amount of rain falling or storm bringing.

While many trainers simply caught themselves a large enough Water type to ride on the back of, a Wailmer or a Tentacruel for example, Louisa thought of something for her Pelipper while she flew across the sea.

Her Pelipper wore a self-made harness, the straps crisscrossing around the body to leave the wings free. In order to keep her backpack from getting drenched with seawater, Louisa purchased a waterproofed version back in Mossdeep City.

Two stretchable cables extended from the harness, both from the middle of the sides, to attach to the handle that Louisa would grip. Her feet were bare to slip easier into the footholds of the wake board.

The Pelipper ruffled her feathers before standing upright for one last check from Louisa. Although she had grumbled at first about the harness, it did manage to raise her stamina quite a bit. In addition, it made the Water Flying type look tough, pulling her trainer without the use of Surf.

"It's fine, right? Not too loose or too tight?" Louisa asked, stepping back to check her Pokemon's reaction. A nod from the bird had Louisa picking up her board and walking to the end of the dock. "Let's head out before the storm hits. Oh, wait a sec…" she said as she reached for the backpack.

Her Pelipper kept close, her Keen Eyes noticing what her trainer needed to pull from the backpack.

"I almost forgot to put on my gloves. Wouldn't want to repeat the fiasco of reaching the abandoned ship right?" Louisa said as she put them on. Her Pelipper squawked before flying over the water's edge.

Louisa sat down at the edge of the dock, placing her feet into the wake board's footholds. Tightening the straps, she waited for her Pokémon to get a feel of the sea's air currents. The Pelipper circled back and landed on the dock where she could begin clipping on the cables to their respective places. As soon as she finished, the Pelipper began to spread her wings. Louisa stood upright, one hand quickly moving the goggles over her eyes before holding on the handle.

"Let's go, to Evergrand City Pelipper!" she cried out as her Pelipper took off.

* * *

The storm, powered by a freak typhoon, turned the sea into a raging monster.

The waves churned all around before deciding to crash against the ship, slamming the sides before scattering across the deck to return to the sea. The wind howled, threatening harm and ruin as it whipped around the masts, twanging through the ropes.

However much the storm raged on the outside, it did not reach the sleeping crew of the _Moby Dick_. Many had retreated to their beds while the storm rumbled ominously on the horizon, although one man trudged late into the hours of the night.

Thatch sat staring at the never-ending amount of paperwork that cluttered his desk. The candle that he used to illuminate the room had reached the last few inches of its life and if he recalled correctly he had no more extras until Marco decided that he had suffered enough from the latest prank.

What was the prank, you ask? Simply put, Thatch would rig a bucket of paint to fall on Jozu as he walked through the door when he came back from walking around on the island they visited. Foolproof right?

**WRONG**.

How was Thatch supposed to know that Marco would walk through the door first as he finished setting up the bucket of neon pink paint, dropping it in surprise?

When Marco realized that the paint would stain his skin, and change the blue coloring of his fire to a sort-of purple, it seemed like the end for Thatch. Granted, the crew and Oyaji roared in laughter as they watched Thatch run away from the purple-and-blue flamed bird.

After a few hours, and many singed marks later, Marco had calmed down enough to decide on Thatch's punishment: after cleaning up what the phoenix's flames scored on deck, he would be doing nothing but paperwork for the next few days.

'_O…kay, I guess I can live with that.' Thatch had thought at the time as Marco began to walk away from him._

"_Thatch, just so you know…when I meant your punishment is doing paperwork, I mean you're going to do _**EVERYONE'S**_paper work. I expect the results to be perfect as well."_

_The shadows that covered Marco's face didn't help Thatch feel relived at all._

Tonight would be the fourth (sleepless) night of trying to finish the **evils **of paperwork, and it seemed that he would never make a dent into the stacks that kept flooding into his room.

For the last hour, Thatch tried to figure out how he would label the destruction of a whole section of a market. Why Ace would try to outdo the fire breather of that traveling circus, he had no idea, but he was certain that he could label this under "Shit that gets Ace into trouble with everyone else because he _just_ has to prove that he isn't called Fire Fist for a reason" folder. Seriously, that thing is four times larger than what Thatch has gotten into in his entire time with the Whitebeard Pirates.

With a tired moan, Thatch moved away from the desk to look out the porthole at the storm while he watched the wave's crash into one another with flashes of lightning giving them eerie shadows. Back and forth, rocking the ship gently… Without completely realizing it, Thatch had ended up with his forehead pressed against the porthole.

'_Just a quick nap…and I'll get this done'_ Thatch promised himself as he lay down on his bed, a yawn sneaking out of him. _'A few minutes tops…'_

Unfortunately, for the tired Commander, he would not get much sleep as an alarm began to blare out from his Den-den mushi. He gave a loud groan as he covered his face with his arms.

"_WHY did I agree to not take a break from cooking?!"_ he yelled to himself as he got out of bed.

* * *

The storm seemed ready to break at any moment as Louisa and her Pelipper made their way to Evergrand. The pair navigated through the water, gliding across rough patches and dodging in-between the various rocky outcroppings. Every so often, Louisa would check her bearings with her PokeNav to make sure that they were on the right track.

"Alright, we've got half a mile to get to Evergrand." she shouted as thunder rumbled overhead. Pelipper made a noise of discomfort. Being both Water and a Flying type made the bird very vulnerable to any form of electricity. The air felt wrong to the Pokémon and she tried to convey this to her trainer.

Suddenly, a large wall of water surged before the pair. With a startled yelp, the two were drenched in seawater as the creature finished surfacing. Louisa crouched over her board as her Pelipper flew off before circling overhead to protect her trainer.

"TENTACRUEL!" cried out the Water Poison type as it turned towards Louisa before shooting out a burst of bubbles. Pelipper quickly blocked with Surf before flying through the water to slam her wings into the wild Pokémon. The Tentacruel recovered from the blow and started to spit out globs of acid to the bird.

"Fly off and then circle back!" Louisa cried out, watching with worry as she noticed the acid quickly eating away at the rocks that it touched. If the poison could dissolve the rocks in a short amount of time, it would mean that the wild Pokémon is at a high level and would be a challenge. A caw answered the trainer as the Pelipper dodged most of the acid spit in her direction and went after the jellyfish like Pokémon.

The Tentacruel saw the attack coming and dove into the water, hiding its form beneath the waves. Both trainer and partner tensed as the ocean gave no sign of where the wild Tentacruel would be hiding. The sky overhead began to rain across the ocean and Louisa looked to her flying type.

With a roar that only an Aggron could match, the Tentacruel resurfaced behind the crouched trainer. The Tentacruel wrapped its tentacles around Louisa's chest before pulling her close.

The Pelipper gave off a cry before launching herself at the jellyfish, slamming its wings into the body repeatedly. The Tentacruel used another bubblebeam attack to push back the Pelipper before diving once again into the water.

X.x.X.

Louisa tried to move one of her arms out of the bind that the Tentacruel had her in but the Pokémon only tightened its grip. Even with her life vest on, the pair managed to dive quite deep before the ocean's currents started to swirl around them.

It was subtle but the Tentacruel stopped to look around to see what Pokémon could be trying to cause a Whirlpool near him. The pause allowed Louisa to yank one of her arms out of the bind before reaching over to punch the nearest eye of the Tentacruel.

With a roar, the jellyfish uncurled its arms from the trainer before shooting out a cloud of ink to cover his escape. Louisa's lungs burned for air as she gained her bearings in the ink. She pushed on despite the pressure on her chest as she swam out of the ink to make her way to the surface. Louisa could see the light, could hear the muffled cries from her Pelipper, and with a desperate choking gasp she broke through the surface.

The sky had grown darker with the rain increasing and causing a mist of sorts to rise from the ocean. The amount of thunder had increased and each rumble shook deep into the trainer's chest.

"Pe-pelipper!" Louisa coughed out as she refilled her lungs with air. Her Pelipper immediately flew over to her trainer before settling on the water next to her. Worried chattering echoed over the water as Louisa held the straps of the harness.

"I-I think I'm alright. That Tentacruel might not with that blow to the eye that I gave him." she joked as she tried to comfort her Pokémon. With a groan, the Pelipper used her wing to knock against her shoulder in reprimand. "Yeah, I'm not going to tell mom about this…maybe dad would understand but not mom."

The pair gave off nervous laughs as they imagined what Louisa's father would say about his daughter punching a Pokémon while they floated in the ocean. She gave a tired huff.

"Great, I'm going to need another wakeboard." she said as she tried to look around for it before looking back to her Pelipper, who had tensed underneath Louisa's fingers. "What's wrong girl?"

A worried groan came out of the Pelipper before a flash of light blinded the pair. The booming that followed the lightning strike drowned out the shrieks they made. It seemed a signal, since the ocean became fiercer with its waves and the rain that seemed more like hail as it crashed into Louisa's face.

"Whoa!" Louisa cried out as a wave nearly separated her from her only form of lifesaver. As she tightened her grip on the harness, her Pelipper flapped her wings, chattering with no pauses in-between.

"Easy, easy girl. We'll get through this. Just moved closer to those rocks that the Tentacruel acid fell on. The water must've washed off the poison so they could be safe." Louisa yelled out to hear herself with all the noise surrounding the two. Her Pelipper nodded, and hopefully made its way to where the rocks were last at, dragging her trainer along in the water.

X.x.X.

"_Breakfast… looks like crap."_ would be the thought on everyone's mind as the commanders sat down to eat. The eggs were runny, the toast either too burnt or only partly cooked, and the few souls that dared to try the bacon were sent to the infirmary.

No one wanted to say anything. They knew how sensitive Thatch could be with his hairstyle but even that would be nothing if someone tried to tell the Fourth Division Commander that his cooking could do with some work. No one wanted a repeat of the Depressive week.

"I think only Ace would be able to stomach a few bites of this crud before he would drop," muttered Izo as he carefully poked his breakfast, a disgusted look on his face. Murmurs of agreement answered the sixteenth commander's comment. Jozu had only looked at his plate before muttering about getting an orange and leaving the table.

The commanders that were trying to get some form of nutrient out of the mess looked over to the kitchen doors. Normally, they could hear the bustle from the cooks and smell the aromas that leaked out when the cooks managed to get out of the kitchen and let the doors open. Today, however the smells that came out of the kitchen were anything but pleasant and many opted to go with Jozu's decision about searching for fruit to eat.

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT!" cried out Haruta, slamming her hands on the table so hard that the silverware clattered. Everyone turned to stare at the annoyed commander as she stormed her way out of the galley. "I can't take this anymore!"

After the door slammed shut, there would be an awkward pause in the air until Namur suddenly followed Haruta. Sensing some sort of drama about to unfold, the rest left the table to see what pushed Haruta over the edge.

X.x.X.

The storm had finally passed and Marco could feel the relief course through him when he saw that the _Moby _had no new scars from it. Anything that couldn't be tied down, Marco had ordered to be moved below deck. Sitting in the Crow's Nest, he leaned against the mast. The first division commander would have drifted off to sleep in the nest except…

"**MARCO!**"

The yell grabbed the zoan's attention and he looked down to see Haruta marching up to the deck before the rest of the commanders followed her. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the group pause underneath before arguing with themselves.

"…_wonder what's wrong?"_ Marco thought to himself as he flew down to the group.

Even though everyone on board had seen Marco's Phoenix form before it still commanded attention and the squabbling ceased. Awkward shuffling and a few muttered 'hellos' were sent his way before the group went silent.

"What's wrong?" Marco stated blandly through the silence and it relit the fire that made Haruta yell his name in the first place.

"Wh-what's Wrong? Is that all you can SAY, What's Wrong?" she managed to splutter out, waving her hands around. "We are hungry-"

"Then go eat, I'm pretty sure that it's still breakfast." Marco cut in, a slightly annoyed look on his face. Haruta however ignored Marco and began to talk over him.

"We are hungry since breakfast sucks; in fact the state of deliciousness from the cooks has been declining ever since YOU put Thatch on paperwork duty. Everybody on this ship is either tired or pissed off at everyone else since YOU put Thatch on paperwork duty. Oh and do YOU know that Thatch hasn't slept since YOU put HIM on PAPERWORK duty?! WELL? Whaddya have to say for yourself?" Haruta demanded as she crossed her arms before glaring at him.

Everyone stared at Haruta before staring at Marco's emotionless face.

"Thatch actually did paperwork?"

* * *

"_Come on! Where in the ocean are these rocks? That Tentacruel couldn't have pulled me that far right?"_ Louisa thought to herself as she spit out seawater before another wave slapped her face.

The storm had finally calmed down enough to where Louisa could look around without her goggles on, although she put them back on when the ocean kept getting into her eyes.

The poor trainer had no idea how long they tried to find the rocks, only that she had started to shiver not long ago. The shivering escalated to teeth chattering and Louisa could barely even feel her fingers or legs anymore.

Her Pelipper had fared slightly better. Designed for life near the water, a Pelipper's feathers kept the cold water out and the warm air close to the body but even then, Louisa's Pelipper had started to slow down. She could see the breaths that came out of the tired Pokémon and Louisa had to decide on calling back her Pelipper so that she could rest or trudge on for the slim chance of finally finding the rocks.

With much effort, Louisa let go of the harness. Pelipper gave a squawk, worried that her trainer had finally lost her strength. When the Pelipper noticed what Louisa had in her hand, she began to protest.

"Listen to me." Louisa's voice cut through the protests and the Pelipper strained to listen to her. "I want you to rest, just for a bit. The storm calmed down. You'll get some energy back and then you can come out to try again later all right? I don't want to overwork you." Louisa held out the Pokeball. "Please."

It would seem like a battle of wills until her Pelipper nodded reluctantly. Louisa called the bird back before stowing the Pokeball into one of the pockets on her backpack. Making sure that the backpack would not drown her, Louisa floated on her back, timing her breathing with the waves that rolled over her body.

"_Please, please let someone find me. I don't want to die out here."_ she thought to herself as she stared at the storm clouds.

* * *

Marco would have never thought that Thatch would follow on his punishment, much less for so long. With that thought however, came the guilt when he saw how horrible the fourth division commander looked.

His normally crisp and clean uniform had wrinkles, food, and ink stains on it and his normally perfectly shaped hair hung in a horrible mess around his head. Vista's hat had somehow found its way to Thatch's head, shadowing the upper half of his face. Marco had a feeling that if he lifted the hat, he would notice new bags underneath Thatch's eyes and a glare in the normally joking gaze.

"See what you did to him?" Haruta cried out, startling Marco from his scrutinizing. "He's like a ghost of his former self! He only came out of his room to cook and the rest of the time he's doing paperwork!"

The tiny feeling of guilt grew in Marco as Thatch raised his head high enough so that the zoan could see how tired his normally joking brother really was.

"_I promise not to deal cheese into soup with paint anymore_, _please, stop the paperwork? _" he mumbled tiredly before leaning dangerously to his right. Izo grabbed the tired man before he could face plant on the deck. The deep snoring from Thatch had Marco finally realizing the consequences of not fully specifying how long the prankster would be on punishment.

"Alright, alright. I've seen enough." he said, holding his hands up. Everyone turned to stare at him. "When he wakes up could someone tell Thatch that I relieve him of paperwork duty?"

"And?" Haruta butted in, arms still crossed.

"…and that he shouldn't cook unless he's had a good amount of sleep." Marco continued.

"And?" Izo spoke up, passing off the passed out Thatch to Vista.

"…and that I shouldn't have overreacted with the prank." Marco said with an annoyed tone.

"AND?" the commanders said in unison.

"…I'll go and apologize to Thatch when he wakes up."

"**AHH**!"

Frustrated, Marco threw his hands in the air. "What else is there!"

"…that wasn't us Marco." Namur said as he pointed to something near the bow of the _Moby_. Everyone turned to stare at…a stream of bubbles?

X.x.X.

Louisa had dozed off long enough to be startled when her floating body bumped into a rock. Forgetting where she was, she ended up flailing for a moment before she gained her bearings. The tired trainer clung to the rock, no energy to even attempt to try and get out of the water.

" _that's it._"

Louisa reached into her backpack pulling at one Pokéball. "Vera, come out." A flash of light and the Vigoroth stood on the top of the rock.

Vera stared out confused before noticing her tired trainer and yanking her out of the water, almost making the girl lose her grip on the pack. The Vigoroth wasted no time and smothered her warm body against the shivering form of her trainer. Grabbing the backpack, the Vigoroth slung it across one of her shoulders before helping Louisa take the life vest off. Carefully shifting her body so that Louisa could be warm, and as far away from the water as possible, the Vigoroth kept a vigil on her sleeping trainer all throughout the night.

As the sun started to rise over the horizon, the Vigoroth had not moved much besides shifting her feet. It is common knowledge that a Vigoroth's vital spirit keeps the Pokémon from falling asleep in battles but it also meant that the Vigoroth had energy to spare and _could not stop _moving for more than a few minutes at best. Yet Vera managed to stay somewhat still for a night and if a Pokémon scientist had gotten word of this strange phenomenon, they would be here faster than the Skarmory flies.

A tired groan made the Vigoroth look away from the sun to stare at the tired eyes of her trainer.

"Next time I say we should try to make a trip through a storm, make sure you stop me from doing so okay?" Louisa joked to Vera, a frown covering the Pokemon's face. "In any case, thanks for keeping me warm, if I let Ace out I think he would have just left me in the water." Vera handed over the backpack when it became clear that Louisa was looking for it.

A snort came from the Vigoroth before Louisa called Vera back into her Pokeball. The trainer shifted her life vest under her as a cushion for the rock and began to rummage through it.

"Snacks, dry clothes, flashlight, extra Pokeballs…" she muttered to herself before finding what she needed. Louisa held the pen in her mouth before rummaging again to find her PokeNav.

"Gotcha," she said with glee. Clicking the device on, she pulled out a granola bar to munch away at as the PokeNav started up. '_How far away did we end up?'_

As the trainer checked her site, she did not notice the shadowed form coming closer to her tiny perch getting larger.

* * *

**Disclaimer: The only original thing in here that could even remotely be considered 'mine' is the oc female trainer, Louisa. Any familiar names/titles belong to their respective franchises.**


	2. Chapter 2

**short note: anticipate less page breaks + fight scenes ahead**

* * *

A sigh escapes the mouth of the helmsman, his fins rippling with boredom. _The Sea's Breeze_ made excellent time with the currents but the captain ordered her crew to slow them down so they would not crash into Hammerhead's Teeth.

Hammerhead's Teeth were the borders of their next destination, SmallCove island, keeping any pirates that were thinking about taking over the little land away with the amount of hidden reefs, low tide points that beached those unused to them, and of course the serpentine-like rock crushers that preyed on anything that entered their territory.

In all the times the crew of _The Sea's Breeze_ had to cross the area, they never had the honor of fighting a rock crusher. Out of the hundreds that tried to take one down, only two crewmembers have lived to tell the tale of failure. The ship would've missed their chance against the vicious fish if it weren't for the Doctor who heard the shriek as it surfaced.

"Crusher!" he shouted suddenly from the bow, pointing over to the rockiest part of Hammerhead's Teeth. Everyone on deck rush to the starboard side to see the spiked tail of the fish disappear into the ocean before the shadowed form rushed away from them.

"Change course and take arms, we're going after it!" Captain Iso shouted, her crew readying their weapons to hunt the vicious fish. "Keep an eye on it, Doc. We wouldn't want it to get away."

"Aye, Captain." the puffer fish said, looking through his spyglass as the ship turned towards Hammerhead's Teeth. He felt her tap his shoulder before walking off.

The fishwoman gave her excited crewmembers a nod before taking a quick look at the cannons on the _Breeze._ It couldn't hurt to be prepared for a back up for when things went south, which happened to the last captain that tried to take the vicious fish down.

That crew managed to corner the beast but then it dove away to resurface next to their ship. The captain had to watch as the fish ripped apart his ship before going after the hunting party. The cook managed to escaped and tell his rescuers about their failed attempt.

"Captain, it's after _someone_!"

The cry snapped her out of the memory. Iso raced to the doctor's side in record time, taking the spyglass from his outstretched hand. With it, she could see the tiny green shape floating in the water before the crusher surfaced behind it. How they could've made it that far out would have to wait as Iso saw the fish strike at the water.

"Get ready for any injuries the fool could have Doctor. Those armed, in the water NOW!" she roared, throwing the spyglass behind her to dive in. Iso's body shifted from her air breathing lungs to gills as she took a breath of seawater. Kicking out, the captain sped towards the churning water with half of her crew behind her armed to the teeth.

"_**Port, Carnes lead the men to distract the beast! Corven, Finley with me!**_" she burbled, orders ringing clearly, as she weaved around the rocks. The four fishmen's shouts of _**"Aye!"**_ were drowned out by the fish's shrieks when it noticed the armed and charging group.

Port began to roar with three other fishmen while Carnes clattered his spear against his armored brother. The fish hissed, showing its bone white fangs before going after the noisy interlopers.

With the Crusher chasing her crew, Captain Iso knew she had a few minutes at most to find the person before the fish realized what they were after.

"_**Fin, go topside. Maybe the fish missed and the poor sap is on another tooth. Corv, keep an eye out for the beast. I think I see something below."**_ the Captain ordered before swimming towards the seafloor.

Finley nodded, swimming to surface and leaving Corven to guard the captain's back. He extended his feelers, sensing the vibrations of everything moving in the water. Corven focused his mind to ignore the small fish hiding in the coral reef and sensed Finley swimming back to him.

"_Fin, what did you find__**?"**_ Corven said as he opened his eyes, sensing the captain returning as well.

"**Corv, Captain. There's some kinda bird flying around and helping our own against the Crusher. Its crazy brave!" **the young fishmen said with wide eyes, waving his hands excitedly.

"_**Calm yourself, Guppy. A bird wouldn't be foolish enough to attack a Rock Crusher in its territory. Did you find any sign of whoever was sitting out here?"**_ Iso said as she floated over to them, a yellow bag in her hand.

"**Oh yeah, the guy wasn't on the rocks**_**."**_ Finley looked sheepish as he pointed back to where the crew led the Crusher away. _**"**_**See he's actually on the Rock Crusher's head, stuck on the spike."**

_o0o0o_

Carnes was the first to notice the small body wedged in-between two spikes as he dodged the Crusher's tail. The parrotfish clicked his beak rapidly, telling his brother as he swam after the beast. They needed it to surface or else this rescue would just turn into a body recovery.

Port responded while maneuvering the crew to force the beast out of the water. The Crusher snapped its teeth at them, breaking two spears in half and scattering the men with a quick whiplash from its tail. Carnes noticed another small detail as he swam closer to the fish.

Blood, human blood and it followed the Crusher's path.

"_Scales"_ he snarled, charging toward the fish's body with no real plan in mind. A shadow flitted over the fishman and he looked up to see the shape of some bird above him. Carnes frowned. SmallCove Island had no native species of birds.

As the bird's shadow floated over the battling crewmembers, the water around the Rock Crusher began to ripple. Port's confused clicking reached Carnes, who only clicked back to move everyone away from the fish. The crew scattered just as the water suddenly swelled up taking the body of the Crusher straight to the surface.

Carnes could feel his jaw dislocate in shock. How…?

_o0o0o_

The Crusher thrashed, shortly confused at its new surroundings, before something slam into its body. A snarled roar had no effect on scaring the thing as it kept smashing into every part that it could reach. Trying to dive back down would not work for the predator as the noisy interlopers blocked his way out.

Hissing, the Crusher tried to hit the thing with its tail. It whiplashes to where the thing would be but the fish missed, the thing twisting its body around the razor tip.

A sharp pain on its back makes the Crusher twist, screeching its pain to the ocean. Another pain blossoms on its belly and the Crusher is fully enraged. These things _will _be ripped by his teeth if it's the last thing it does.

Captain Iso charged through the water to reach her crew with help from Covern's senses. She took the sight of the thrashing fish being attacked by the bird, while her crew kept the predator's upper body out of the water.

"**See, I wasn't making it up Captain. That bird is really brave!" **said Finley as the three of them swam towards the action. After his earlier revelation to the captain, she shoved the bag into his hands and immediately set off for the battle with her two crewmates rushing to catch up.

"_Keep your head Guppy, saving the fool stuck on the Crusher's head is the main problem here!" _shouted Corven as he jetted ahead, leaping out of the water to slam his swords into the fish's back. The Crusher shrieked as it twisted its serpentine body around trying to dislodge the catfish man as he climbed.

"_**Corven's right. Get back to the ship and tell the rest of the men to aim the cannons at the fish. Tell them they're to fire at the body as soon as Corven is off." **_the Captain commanded, rushing to aid her crew as the Crusher begins to slam its tail into the water.

The youngest member of _The Sea's Breeze_ frowned at his orders. Although Finley did lean towards planning an attack rather than participating in the action, he still wanted to do his part in taking the beast down. He couldn't let his moment pass. With a determined nod, the fishman swam towards the nearest rock and pulled himself out the water to sit on it. He looked to the Crusher, taking in as many details as he could.

"Okay, it's large, fast, and vicious. Obvious blind spot where the human is. Sharp teeth to tear prey with, an even sharper tail to stop sneak attacks or wound, maybe we could use its size against it?" Finley muttered to himself, a plan forming in his head.

A loud '**Wark**!' startled Finley from his thoughts and he turned to find himself face to beak with the bird that attacked the Crusher. It squawked before pulling on the bag on his back almost shoving him off.

"Oi, what're you doing birdie? Get off." the fishman said as he jabbed at the bird's head. It clacked its beak, looking frustrated as it ruffled its feathers. "Wait, why are you here? Shouldn't you be attacking the Crusher instead of bothering me?"

The bird looked over to where Finley pointed before turning back while chattering to him. Finley had seen something flash in its eyes, and it looked like it managed to get the gist of his question. Maybe something in the bag could scare away the Rock Crusher.

Finley moved the bag so that it sat between the two of them. "Alright, what do you need me to grab for you birdie?" he said as he put his hand in.

The bird looked surprised before glancing into the bag, shaking its head with most of the things he touched or tried to pull out. When Finley grabbed an oddly colored ball, the bird bobbed its head with a chirrup.

_o0o0o_

That was it. The Pokéball in the strangely colored boy's hand had Vera inside. Now, everything depended on the Vigoroth and her secret move.

A shout of alarm made the bird look up to see the large Huntail aiming another Bite in her direction. The bird Pokémon had enough of the deep fish. It attacked her trainer without warning, cutting her in the arm before trying to drown her, and even tried to eat the water flying type. '_NO more' _Pelipper thought as she met the charging beast with her Protect head-on.

The Huntail crashed into the barrier, cracking but not shattering it. The fish hissed as it reared back, shaking its head.

"_Throw the ball!"_ the Pelipper squawked to the boy as she used another Wing Attack on the Huntail. It roared as she flew off to dodge the Slam that it sent after her.

Pelipper circled around to see that another of the oddly colored humans reaching her trainer's body, jabbing a sword into the Huntail's skin to keep from falling off. He could keep Louisa from getting hurt.

The flying type used a Water Gun attack to gain the Huntail's attention. The Pokémon went after her as she flew close to its teeth. Keeping the Huntail's head level enough for the human to stand in was a challenge but Pelipper managed.

She could see that the man looked worried as he pulled Louisa's body out of the space it was in before he leapt off the head when the Huntail tried to Dive into the water. The Pokémon had to move away as the rest of the strange humans slammed their sticks into the fish's nose.

'_Why don't they use their Pokémon instead of the sticks?'_

"_Ahh, deep water!"_

The cry made the Pelipper look over to the boy, who had managed to call out Vera. They were in the water, the Vigoroth desperately trying to keep her body away from the water while the boy tried to calm the freaked out Pokémon.

"_Vera, use Shock Wave on the Huntail!"_ Pelipper cried out as she neared the pair who had climbed back on the rock.

"_Why am I out in Deep Water?! Where is Louisa?"_ Vera cried out as she glanced up to Pelipper. The drenched look from the normal type was part terrified and part angered. If an oversized Huntail weren't attacking them now, Pelipper would've chuckled at her expression.

A roar made the two of them look over to the Huntail who had a stick pointing out of where its left eye was.

"_Here's what you need to know. After Louisa called you back, this Huntail attacked her. She was stuck on its head but one of those humans got her off. This boy called you out and I _NEED_ you to use Shock Wave on it!"_ Pelipper quickly chattered to her confused teammate.

_o0o0o_

The white ape-like creature that somehow sprang out of the ball, how was that even **possible**?, had calmed down enough for Finley to swim them over to the rock that he fell off. '_A warning would've been nice_.'

The fishman looked over to the bird while it chattered to the ape, who grunted back to it as an angry look crossed its face. It nodded as the bird flew away to the Rock Crusher.

'_What are they up to?'_ Finley wondered as he stared at the ape, which started to rub its forearms together. The strange action made a crackling sound as the ape's hair began to stand up. A few seconds later the ape stood upright, its entire body tense as it drew its arms back.

A '**WARK**!' made Finley turn to see the Rock Crusher, who looked like it was going to eat the bird _and _crash into them with how fast it approached. The bird then flew upwards, the gaping maw opened so wide that Finley could see the extra rows of teeth.

With a howl, the ape moved its arms forward in a throwing motion. A stream of _lightning_ flew from its hands towards the Crusher hitting its mouth dead on. The lightning crackled over the fish's body as it shrieked, snapping its mouth shut to jerk away from them.

"_Critical hit!"_ Vera shouted as she watched the waves of water crash into the rocky perch with the impressive flailing that the Huntail managed. Water types were no match for any Electric type move, even if the move would never be as strong if the Vigoroth were an actual electric type.

The sounds of sputtering made Vera look behind her to see the boy looking speechless. She frowned, did he think they weren't going to make it? No, he wasn't staring at her.

Vera turned back to the Huntail who shook the attack off, it's beady eye narrowing. Uh-oh, not enough for a one hit KO. The Vigoroth yelped as the fish went for another attack. She wouldn't have time to charge another Shock Wave and Pelipper-

'_**THOOM!'**_

The volley of cannonballs slammed into the Rock Crusher's head, cracking its skull as its head snapped back with the force. Vera blinked before looking over to where a ship floated close enough that the normal type could still see the smoke from the cannons.

'_When did that get here?'_ she thought as a final gurgling roar came from the fainting fish. With its body crashing into the ocean, the cheers of the crew would be the last thing the Huntail would ever hear again.

* * *

The stream of bubbles hit Namur first, his shout of alarm shocking the rest of the commanders as he staggered back.

"What the hell!" shouted Haruta as she turned to see what attacked her brother before she had to dive to the side to avoid another wave of bubbles? Rolling behind the mast, she bumped elbows with Izo.

"Namur, you alright?" Izo shouted as he pulled his pistols from his belt. Haruta reached for her sword before realizing that she left it in her room. The twelfth division commander groaned, the **one **day that she didn't have it…

Haruta took a chance to look around the mast and stared at the red thing that stood upright on the deck. It looked as if a lobster decided to learn how to walk, with two blue stripes on its white chest and a yellow star on its forehead. The lobster-thing kept opening and closing its claws as if it anticipated a fight.

"I'm fine," Namur shouted back, hiding behind a barrel with Vista and Thatch's still snoring body. Haruta saw that he ran his fingers over his left arm. "Nothing's broken, that thing just startled me."

"Do you know what _it_ is then?" shouted Haruta before she ducked back to avoid a jet of water rushing by. Izo used the distraction to run across the deck, firing on the walking lobster.

"**Aragua!**" it shouted as the bullets hit its body. The lobster-thing's body gained a strange sheen to it before it rushed after Izo, who ran faster as it began to catch up.

"Just because I **come **from the sea, it doesn't mean I know every damn species!" Namur snapped back as he grabbed the barrel before throwing it in the general direction of the running lobster. Haruta could see the annoyed look Vista gave the shark as he scooped Thatch back onto his shoulder.

"Vista, get Thatch out of here!" Marco shouted as the lobster sent out a jet of water straight into Izo's path. The sixteenth division commander managed to doge the water but he couldn't doge the glowing claw that slammed against his right wrist.

Izo gave a shout as he felt his arm turning numb in an instant. Dropping his pistol, he fired the other one as he cradled the arm against his chest. The lobster took a few steps back before skittering away as it noticed the group of humans approaching rapidly.

"Izo, you okay?" asked Haruta as she reached him, while the rest of them attacked the lobster.

"I'm fine." Izo said as he tried to move his arm. It moved normally but when he tried to pick his pistol up, his fingers wouldn't bend. "It must've hit my nerve, can't move my fingers."

"**Grua!**"

The two commanders looked over to see that the lobster had grabbed onto Namur's arm, hanging on even as he began to punch it in the face. The lobster pointed its other claw at Namur's face before blasting him with a jet of water.

Namur snarled as he slammed his fist against the lobster's open claw, making the water spray everywhere as he bared his teeth. He could feel its grip loosen a bit so Namur punched it again until it let go.

As the lobster backed away, a foot slammed into its chest. Its startled cry made Namur laugh as it tumbled over backwards into the mast with a sharp '_CRACK!'_. The lobster slumped to the deck.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place Marco?" the eight-division commander said as he glanced over his arm. A small line of dots showed where the claw dug into his skin.

"That would've been nice, considering that Izo can't move his fingers." Haruta scoffed as she reached the group gathering around Namur, who waved them off.

"Is your hand broken?" Marco said as he glanced over to him.

Izo shook his head as he wiggled his fingers. "Nothing feels broken but I couldn't pick up my pistol earlier."

With everyone focusing on Izo and Namur's wounds, Haruta looked over to see the lobster staring at the group. She watched at it as a small bubble of smoke came out of its mouth before a pink hand appeared and wiggled the index finger in a 'come here' motion.

An angry howl burst out of Haruta's mouth as she ran towards the lobster shocking her fellow commanders. A tiny voice kept yelling that it was a bad idea to fight it unarmed but another louder voice roared that it insulted her and she should attack it with all she had.

As the lobster opened both its claws, Haruta felt a pair of arms encircled her waist as they spun her around. She watched as everyone looked like they were reacting in slow motion, the shock slowly crawling over their faces as she felt the person holding her bracing himself against the enormous rush of water that engulfed the two of them.

* * *

**longer note: I hope the fight scenes weren't too confusing and believeable enough.**

**The entire fight with the rock crusher/huntail-like creature flowed easily into the Word document but I shoved myself into a corner with the sentence about the bubbles, couldn't figure out what pokemon would end up attacking the whitebeard pirates and when I did I had to figure out how to express how a Crawdaunt looks to people who had never seen one before.**

**Its moveset in order: Bubblebeam, Water gun, Harden, Knock off, Vicegrip, Water gun, Taunt, and Hydro pump in case you were wondering due to vauge descriptions.**

** Also apologies to reviewer Matt, who wanted the straw hat pirates to appear. They _will_ show up later on, I promise, just not right now.**


End file.
